Jeremiah
Chapter 18
1 The message that came to Jeremiah from God said,
2 Get up and go to the potter’s house, where I will make you hear my message.
3 I went to the potter’s house and saw him making something on the wheel.
4 The clay pot the potter was making got ruined in his hands, so he made a different pot in a way he thought was best.
5 Then God spoke to me, saying,
6 People of Israel, can’t I deal with you as a potter does? says God. Look, just as clay is in the potter’s control, so are you in my control, people of Israel.
7 When I decide to talk about a nation or kingdom, to uproot, tear down, or destroy it;
8 If that country, which I warned, stops doing bad things, I will not punish them as I planned.
9 When I decide to talk about a nation or kingdom, to make it grow and succeed;
10 If it does wrong in my eyes by not listening to me, then I will change my mind about the good I planned to do for them.
11 Now go and tell the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem that God says: “Look, I am planning trouble for you and making a plan against you. So turn away from your bad ways and do what is right.”
12 They said, “There is no hope. We will follow our own plans and each of us will act on the evil desires of our heart.”
13 So God says, ask the nations, has anyone heard of such a thing: the virgin of Israel has done something very awful.
14 Will a man abandon the snow of Lebanon from the mountain fields? Or will he leave behind the cold, flowing waters from afar?
15 Because my people have forgotten me, they have burned incense to worthless things, causing them to stray from the old paths and walk on unmade ways.
16 To turn their land into ruins, always empty; everyone who goes by will be shocked and shake their head.
17 I will scatter them like an east wind before the enemy; I will show them my back, not my face, on their day of trouble.
18 They said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah, because the teachings won’t disappear from the priest, advice won’t vanish from the wise, and messages won’t stop from the prophet. Come, let’s attack him with our words and not listen to anything he says.”
19 Listen to me, God, and pay attention to the voices of those who argue against me.
20 Should bad be paid back for good? They have made a trap for me. Remember I spoke to you on their behalf to do them good and to keep your anger from them.
21 So give their children to hunger, and let their blood be spilled by the sword; make their wives lose their children and become widows; and kill their men, let their young men die by the sword in war.
22 Let a shout come from their houses when you bring soldiers suddenly against them, because they have dug a hole to capture me and hidden traps for my feet.
23 God, you know their plans to kill me. Do not forgive their wrongs or erase their sins from your view. Let them fail in your presence when you are angry.